A busy first week and a bit of February saw me doing Comic Art Masterclasses in Coventry, Putney, Cranleigh, Derbyshire and Stamford. And what a beautiful bumper bundle of comics the kids and me have produced together, wouldn't you say?
Exhall Grange in Coventry is a school that's had me back a few times now, so I must be doing something right. A couple of spiffing comic titles from them inspired a couple of nice covers.
If it's Half Term then it must be a whole week of classes, beginning with Surrey Explorers, who organise classes in Putney Methodist Church. It's the third or maybe fourth time they've had me. A smashing group of kids made another cracking comic. I even think they're getting to know me down the road at Mailboxes where I have to go to produce the photocopied comic they take away at the end.
Two days in a row in Surrey, this time at Cranleigh Arts Centre. I won't say it's posh, but out of the window I could see a half-timbered petrol station. Genuinely. Bonus marks for the creation, by the pupil who probably spelled it that way unintentionally, of the Lepricorn.
Derbyshire libraries arranged a couple of sellout classes at Alvaston and Mickleover libraries, which were great fun though they had one caveat: the libraries had no photocopiers. They're the first libraries I've gone to with no copier, which is a sad development, for me at least. I hope it's not county-wide, though I have a dreadful fear it might be. They're expensive things and, I guess, people use them less and less. It doesn't bode well for the future of my classes cos I rely on a photocopier to be able to give the kids their A5 comic to takeaway. Luckily these punters hadn't paid for their places (I'm pretty sure) so they shouldn't feel short changed by not getting a comic to take away. They still got their caricatures, all the art they'd produced, and the front cover, once I'd coloured it, emailed to the library (and, I assume, forwarded to them). Fingers crossed nobody wanted their money back.
Friday saw two classes at Stamford Arts Centre in Lincs, and what a couple of smashers to end a top week with. Lots of satisfied customers, and a shedload of driving. Bish bash bosh. Oh, and I sold 80 books.
The celebrities these nine groups chose to appear in my demonstration strip were Taylor Swift (twice), James Bond, Albert Einstein, Donald Trump, Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jackson, Mr Beast, and Clare Balding.
My Books And Where To Find Them...
Colouring Books: Doctors Who, Hollywood Legends, Punk, Cult TV, Eurovision Vol 1, Eurovision Vol 2, Eurovision Best Of British & Irish, 1960s Pop, 1970s Pop, 1980s Pop, 1990s Pop, 2020s Pop, Bowie, Scottish Pop, Royalty, Rom Coms
